Mid-infrared Variability of Changing-look AGNs
- CAS Key Laboratory for Researches in Galaxies and Cosmology, University of Sciences and Technology of China, Hefei, Anhui 230026 (China)
- Caltech Optical Observatories, Cahill Center for Astronomy and Astrophysics, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA 91125 (United States)
- Center for Astrophysics, Guangzhou University, Guangzhou 510006 (China)
It is known that some active galactic nuclei (AGNs) transit from Type 1 to Type 2 or vice versa. There are two explanations for the so-called changing-look AGNs: one is the dramatic change of the obscuration along the line of sight, and the other is the variation of accretion rate. In this Letter, we report the detection of large amplitude variations in the mid-infrared luminosity during the transitions in 10 changing-look AGNs using the Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer ( WISE ) and newly released Near-Earth Object WISE Reactivation data. The mid-infrared light curves of 10 objects echo the variability in the optical band with a time lag expected for dust reprocessing. The large variability amplitude is inconsistent with the scenario of varying obscuration, rather it supports the scheme of dramatic change in the accretion rate.
- OSTI ID:
- 22654397
- Journal Information:
- Astrophysical Journal Letters, Vol. 846, Issue 1; Other Information: Country of input: International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA); ISSN 2041-8205
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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